DeWine's formation of heroin unit comes at the right time

The name of Marin Riggs may not be easily recognizable to most Ohio residents, but her story has become front and center in the war against heroin use in the state.

A beautiful, athletic and intelligent woman, the central Ohio native hoped to be a ultrasound technician and seemingly had a bright future ahead of her.

But, at 20 years old, Riggs was found on her bathroom floor dead from a heroin overdose in January 2012 - six months after emerging from rehab - and her life became a cautionary tale.

That story is one shared by 606 families across the state last year and repeated over and over in Ohio in the past five years. More specifically, 292 people died of heroin overdoses in 2010, but the number skyrocketed to 606 in 2012, leading Attorney General Mike DeWine to form a new heroin unit aimed at reducing its use in the state.

Heroin's impact, gaining in strength as the war on painkillers saw success, has been great. While some critics have cast a wary eye toward DeWine's penchant for creating special units, this particular unit is as needed as the opiate task force created in 2010.

Opiate abuse has plagued our state for nearly a decade now. The attention placed on prescription painkillers helped stem the nearly unfettered access to them in recent years. With proper attention from both the Legislature and renewed focus by law enforcement, we will hopefully see less stories of despair and death and more stores of recovery and happiness. DeWine says the new task force will fight the heroin problem at the grassroots level. That's great news, but we want to see resources and money at that level as well, not just spent on a distant task force that makes decisions and sets agendas.

DeWine's move is the right one at the right time. For the sake of those who have already lost someone to heroin - and those who struggle with its grip daily - we hope to see quick results in the fight.

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DeWine's formation of heroin unit comes at the right time

The name of Marin Riggs may not be easily recognizable to most Ohio residents, but her story has become front and center in the war against heroin use in the state.